Two more Monterey County inmates charged in jail assault

SALINAS &GT;&GT; Two more jail inmates have been charged in connection with what officials call a coordinated attack on a jail deputy last month, bringing the total to six.

Edward Ramirez, 20, and Mark Raso, 27, were scheduled for arraignment Thursday on various assault charges.

Court records show Raso was in the jail awaiting trial for attempted murder, assault and firearms charges stemming from a Sept. 7 incident in Greenfield.

Ramirez is awaiting trial on charges of committing armed robbery and assault on Dec. 23 in Salinas.

Earlier this month, four others, several of whom face homicide charges, were arraigned in connection with the attack that left one Monterey County Jail deputy with serious head injuries.

The accused include Armando Canchola, 25, who recently pleaded no contest to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in connection with two Soledad shootings. Canchola had expected a 35-year sentence as part of a plea agreement, but with the new charges now faces more than 100 years to life in prison.

Also newly charged with assaulting the deputy and assault causing great bodily injury was Francisco Miranda, 24, who awaits trial on murder charges after he allegedly killed two Salinas women while driving under the influence of marijuana.

The others accused are Alberto Cortez, 22, and Marcos Zamora, 23.

Cortez was arrested for the May 2011 slaying of Jose Calderon Cisneros in Castroville and his trial in that case is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Zamora was sent this week to North Kern State Prison, where he is serving a three-year sentence for robbery. In addition to the jail attack, Zamora is also now freshly charged for an alleged knife attack on a fellow inmate that took place in December.

The six were among a group of 14 inmates who were about to be escorted to the jail's recreation yard the morning of May 24.

Some among the group suddenly attacked Deputy Nicholas Menezes, pelting him with punches.

Sheriff's Office spokesman John Thornburg said it was not clear if the deputy was specifically targeted for the attack. Sheriff's officials and prosecutors have declined to offer a possible motive.

Thornburg said some of the inmates were also charged by his office of inciting a riot because of the large number of inmates involved, but the district attorney chose not to file that particular count.

Such "coordinated" attacks in the jail are rare, Thornburg said, and inmates' movements have since been restricted because of the assault.